Bestest Hydrangea Ever

I want one of these. Each huge petal is a different shade of purple or green or mauve. This one is in my aunt and uncle's yard in Virginia.

After searching the internet, the best I can come up with is that it is called "antique" and that they aren't something you can just go to any nursery and buy, and if you but one over the internet, there's no guarantee what colors it will be. And they aren't zone 5.

Oh well. At least I have a few pictures.

Loss

I have a small creek bed in back of my house, and along it grow these trees. I have a couple of them and my next door neighbor has close to a dozen. He told me they are shag bark walnuts. Two years ago, he lost a huge one in a storm. Fortunately, it fell away from his house. Last year, I lost my largest, which had to come down because of a split down the middle. In a storm this afternoon, he lost another, which missed his house by only a few feet.

I don't know what the deal is with these. Maybe they have a limited life span and they are reaching the end of it. They all look healthy and strong. Maybe it is the erosion after a heavy rain that carries away parts of my backyard, and the wear and tear of withstanding years of it.

I do know, though, that it is painful to see them spread out on the ground.

walnut.jpg on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

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Hostas

So, I just came across this pastel I did last summer. I think this is the light I meant to try for in that lame reduction print a couple of posts prior to this one. Wow, did I miss.

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Randomness

The polar opposite of my previous post.

I've also been playing around with monoprints.

No carving, little planning, just experimenting and creating.

I like it.

A lot.

There are more of them here.

After a second look while checking the link, a little more planning might be a good idea.

Reduction Print 101 - Fail

So, this did not work out at all as I had planned. It is my first attempt at a reduction print. The biggest mistake, in hindsight, was waiting too long to go to a darker ink, resulting in a leaf that makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. In fact, I'm surprised I'm even posting this one.

I did learn a couple of valuable lessons along the way. The only difference in the top two prints is the paper they are printed on. I need to make a point of trying 3 or 4 different papers until I find the one I am happy with. Also, I like the detail view of this rather than the full image. The next time I try it, I am definitely going macro. Details.

Now the question is what to do with the 15 prints I've pulled. Several ideas have crossed my mind, including cutting them up into little pieces and shipping them off to my mom to make cards, or cropping them drastically. I've even considered making a new block to add a layer of dark. For now, though, putting them in a pile in some forgotten corner seems like the best solution.

All in all, I enjoyed the process, I just want to be better at it. I'll chalk this one up to a learning experience.

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